CDC Identifies Vitamin E Acetate As Common Factor In Vape-Related Illnesses And Deaths

For the first time, the CDC has directly traced Vitamin E with the vaping crisis in new study.

November
8, 2019

2 min read

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The vaping crisis is a major concern within the cannabis industry, and as news of more illnesses and unfortunate deaths continue to make headlines the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has finally released a study detailing what might be causing all the problems. And it’s what many in the cannabis industry have been saying all along.

According to a breaking report from the CDC, vitamin E acetate has been identified as the most commonly linked issue with vaping devices, with samples from 29 patients showing traces of the additive in their lungs.

Recent CDC laboratory testing of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid samples (or samples of fluid collected from the lungs) from 29 patients with EVALI submitted to CDC from 10 states found vitamin E acetate in all of the BAL fluid samples. Vitamin E acetate is used as an additive in the production of e-cigarette, or vaping, products. This is the first time that we have detected a potential chemical of concern in biologic samples from patients with these lung injuries.

For months, there had been speculation that Vitamin E acetate has been the possible cause of the vaping crisis. In previous reports, health officials have identified that the majority of those sickened in the vaping health crisis used cannabis vape products containing THC, with counterfeit marijuana products from the illicit market, and not licensed marijuana companies, being the main source of purchases from users.

Marijuana industry officials have routinely blamed the black market as the culprit behind the hundreds of vaping illnesses and deaths, leading to many in the legal industry looking to the government to enforce regulations to stop such production of illegal products.